


The Ark National Park

by allyarra, Esyla



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Character Death, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Mostly canonical character death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-12
Updated: 2014-07-08
Packaged: 2018-02-04 09:42:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1774537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allyarra/pseuds/allyarra, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Esyla/pseuds/Esyla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke Griffin loves her job as a park ranger at the Ark National Park and she loves the guys she works with, even her boneheaded partner Bellamy Blake. Then her mom decides to run for a senate seat and gets it into her head that Clarke should date her estranged childhood friend just for appearances. Too bad for her mom Finn Collins, the local search and rescue guy, steps up and pretends to be her boyfriend before her mom can go through with this plan. And if that weren't enough there's a murderer on the loose too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Mom, I’ve got to go,” Clarke bit out once again. She’d been trying to get off the phone with her mother for the past five minutes and Bellamy was starting to look less amused and more annoyed with the situation. “I’ll call you later, bye!” she said in a rush and quickly ended the call, shoving her phone into her pocket.

“Sorry,” she muttered, knowing that Bellamy understood but she still had to say it. After a year of being her partner Bellamy fully understood the strained relationship she had with her mother.

She’d been raised by her mother alone since the age of 14, when her parents had divorced and her dad had just disappeared from their lives. Learning last year that the reason for the divorce had been her mother’s affair with her father’s best friend had been a little more than she could take. The two of them were trying to repair that relationship but sometimes it was still too much for her.

“As long as you don’t mind me taking too long the next time Octavia calls,” Bellamy joked but they both knew it wasn’t a real joke. Octavia Blake was a free spirit and Bellamy had raised her almost by himself because their parents had more problems than Clarke’s.

Clarke just smiled in response because they’d learned through trial and error when it was best to say something and when you needed to keep your mouth shut. The subject of Octavia when there was no alcohol on hand was one of those times.

They were quiet as they headed out to the car that Bellamy always insisted on driving because Clarke hadn’t quite managed to get it into his head that she didn’t need him to take care of her the way he’d taken care of Octavia her whole life. But they’d come a long way from the resentment they’d both held when they were first assigned as partners and a pseudo-sibling relationship was much better than enemies. Their superiors were certainly happy with their current performance.

The squawk of the radio was the only sound in the car as they drove the forty five minutes back to headquarters. It had been a long shift, made longer by the phone call from her mother at the end of it, and Clarke was grateful for the silence. It was just too bad that five minutes out Bellamy decided he’d had enough of it.

“So what’s  your plan?” he asked as casually as if he’d asked if she wanted a cup of coffee. The answer to that would have been God, yes, but unfortunately he’d asked a different question. One she had no idea how to answer.

So she shrugged and jumped out of the car the second it came to a stop. She could hear Bellamy’s mocking laughter as she rushed into headquarters, heading to the break room and coffee.

She was so focused on the coffee that she didn’t even notice the room’s other occupants until she’d taken the first sip. Then she looked up and noticed the three people sitting at the little table and fought a blush. “Hi,” she muttered and took a seat next to Jasper as Bellamy walked into the room, a smug smirk still on his face.

“Clarke, Clarke, Clarke,” he said in his most patronizing tone, the one that made her want to punch him. “You can run but you can’t hide. In more ways than one.”

“Do you need some alone time to work this out?” Monty asked and Clarke knew the botanist was always going to be one of her favorite people at the Ark National Park. “Cause we could leave.”

Clarke groaned and waved her hand. “No, it’s fine. He’s right.”

“About what?” Jasper cut in, always eager for new information no matter what kind.

“Might as well tell them Griffin, they’ll find out soon enough.”

That earned Bellamy a dirty look. “My mother’s coming to visit.”

Jasper and Monty were clueless but Finn, super perceptive Finn, winced in sympathy. It was embarrassing that she was so transparent to Finn and had been since they’d met. Not even when their minor attempt at a date had blown up in their faces when Finn’s ex had started at The Ark had changed that.

“Just wait until she tells you the best part,” Bellamy gloated once again. He got way too much enjoyment out of her misery.

“She’s campaigning for a Senate seat this election cycle.” That got the full sympathy from her coworkers that she’d been looking for. Too bad she wasn’t even done. “And she’s got it in her head that having a single daughter is bad for publicity because there’s no males in the family. Sexism is alive and well in politics and male voters won’t let it die.”

Monty gave her a sympathetic smile but Jasper actually snorted, which earned him a grin from Bellamy and a glower from Clarke. She knew it was right to think of Monty as her favorite, even if Jasper was like the little brother she’d never had and Bellamy the older brother she’d never wanted. It was just too bad that Bellamy seemed to think she and Jasper were his little siblings as well, with all the societal implications therein.

“So who’s the lucky guy?” Finn asked and Clarke wondered if she was reading into it too much to think that his voice was just a little bit too even. “Anyone we know?”

“Wells Jaha,” Bellamy supplied and Clarke wished he would choke on his own laughter.

Finn’s eyebrows rose while Monty and Jasper looked a bit confused. She really, really wished that Finn didn’t know so much about her. It made the lingering sexual tension between them even worse and she really did not want that in her life right now.

“So how are you going to manage a relationship with the illustrious Dr. Wells Jaha?”

Clarke was certain she was reading too much into the situation when she thought she detected jealousy in Finn’s tone. “By not being in one. I’m going home, I’ve been on shift for fourteen hours, my bed is calling me,” she announced and walked out before anyone could say anything.

She’d made it all the way out to the parking lot where her car waited before anyone caught up to her.

“Clarke!” Finn called and she yelled at herself internally for stopping and turning around. “Clarke, I’m sorry. We were just teasing.”

That’s what made it even worse. Finn was teasing and she wanted him to be jealous. She wanted him to go all caveman and tell her she’s his and that she shouldn’t even consider another guy, even if her inner feminist hated that idea. And there was the fact that she couldn’t picture Finn ever doing that. It just wasn’t in him. He’d be all into stepping aside for her happiness even if it meant his unhappiness.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Yeah, well I am. Because you’re my friend and this is kinda a big deal to you.”

“I’m fine, Finn. Really. Don’t worry about it.”

“I think we both know you’re lying.” And here it was again, the proof that apparently Clarke was an open book to Finn Collins. One he could just pick up any damn time he felt like and rifle through some pages and know everything about her. “The last time Wells was here you barely said five words to him.”

“I didn’t have anything to say.” That was the truth, or at least a piece of it. Finn didn’t need to know the whole of it.

He didn’t know why her family broke apart. Didn’t know what her mother had done with Thelonius Jaha. Didn’t know what Wells had done to her in trying to hide the affair. He didn’t know anything and Clarke would like to keep it that way.

“Yeah, okay. But Clarke, you know you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

“She’ll be here tomorrow. Let’s see if you say that after you actually meet her.”

Clarke climbed into her car and pulled away before he could say anything else, calling herself a coward but not really caring. Her emotions were burnt out after a long shift and her mother’s latest edict. Finn was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

With the latest chatter saying that The Grounder was headed their way she needed to keep her focus on her job, not her personal life. The Grounder preyed on visitors to parks just like the Ark and he had managed to escape every attempt at capture. Her mother’s campaign decisions could not have come at a worse time. A serial killer on the loose, her mother wanted her to play house with the man who had helped rip apart her family, and Finn Collins hanging around tugging at her heartstrings while trying to help her. Those were three more problems than she knew how to handle at the moment.

 

* * *

 

  
Clarke really, really hated meetings. Even with the budget cuts meaning there were only about a hundred people working at the Ark all of them were too long and boring. Especially considering her job was law enforcement and these meetings almost never had anything to do with that topic. Her part in them usually lasted five minutes and then she had to sit and listen as all the other park rangers chattered about their departments.

She and Bellamy had long ago split the chore of having to go but it was her week and so she was stuck here. At least with The Grounder on the loose she got to do more than usual, but considering the Ark wasn’t a major National Park no one was overly concerned that he’d be heading their way. So she got shoved aside professionally. It was too bad that personally she’d taken center stage.

“I’m sure you’re all aware that Congresswoman Abby Griffin will be arriving later today and will be bringing some members of the press with her,” Marcus Kane, the director of the Ark said and made sure to look directly at Clarke as he said it. She wished she could slouch in her seat like a little kid. “Let’s all remember that the budget cuts have hit us hard and if we have any hope of getting some funding back we need good publicity. We need to take full advantage of this opportunity.”

Clarke had to bite her tongue to keep herself from saying or doing something that would get her in a lot of trouble. Such as pointing out the fact that there was a serial killer on the loose that targeted parks. Now was not the time to be ramping up publicity like this.

“With The Grounder on the loose can we really take advantage of it in a way that’s not going to put our visitors at risk?”

If Clarke didn’t know there would be serious consequences for it, she would kiss Jasper right then for that question. So it was a good thing that she knew the consequences and settled for shooting him a smile.

“As sobering a situation as The Grounder is, we can’t afford to lose this opportunity. The Ark’s been losing visitors every year, we need to generate some excitement or our budget will be slashed even further. We don’t have much of a choice.”

Kane had a gift for making almost anything sound reasonable. Clarke thought it came from the fact that his mother was a preacher. Clarke had met her once, a lovely woman but she came on a little too strongly for Clarke’s tastes. Her death a few months ago was still a loss that Kane obviously felt.

“At least we won’t be in charge of that end of this whole business,” Finn leaned over to whisper in her ear and she felt a little shiver go down her spine. She frowned. She hated when that happened. “Just making sure that once he’s here no one dies.”

“Collins!” Kane barked before she could reply. “Have something to share with the class?”

Finn and Kane had never gotten on very well and it rubbed Kane the wrong way that he really didn’t have control over Finn. Since Finn was the only one in the district commissioned as a search and rescue park ranger he was essential and Kane couldn’t really threaten him. Of course he still tried whenever he felt like Finn was acting like too much of a carefree, adrenaline junkie. Which was pretty much all the time.

Kane glowered at the two of them but Finn just gave his most charming smile. “Just checking with Ranger Griffin that we’re on the same page with security if our publicity is going to be increasing.”

There was really nothing Kane could say to that and Clarke had to keep herself from congratulating Finn for getting another thing past Kane.

The meeting broke up quickly after that and Clarke rushed to get out of the room and back outside. It was too bad that Finn managed to catch up before she could go find Bellamy and start the morning’s patrol. Something that he seemed to be making a habit of doing lately.

“Hey, you sure you’re okay about your mother coming today?” he asked and she wanted to scream. It was sweet that he cared but she’d already been asked that a million times over the past week.

She swallowed down the scream. “Yeah, I think so. Just be ready if I do something crazy when I actually see her.” It was meant as a joke but it held too much truth to come across as anything else.

“Clarke, I will fully support you in all your crazy. No matter what you do I will totally play along. It will be fine.” Finn really did not know just how crazy her plans were when she was desperate. She had a feeling he was really going to regret telling her that. But it did make her feel a tiny bit better.

She graced him with a smile. “Thanks. I’ve got to go start my patrol but will you be here when my mom gets here? I might need another pep talk right before I actually face her.”

The smile on Finn’s face nearly blinded and she worried that a blush was actually creeping up her cheeks. “Promise,” he said before running off to get his own work done.

Walking into their little office with a small smile earned her a raised eyebrow from Bellamy. “Was Kane set on fire during the meeting? Because that is the only thing I can think of that would make you smile today.”

“Shut up, let’s go,” she barked, which only got her another knowing, rather superior, look.

Patrol was of course uneventful on the one day she needed things to happen in order to keep her mind off of the situation with her mother. Instead what she got was an entire day of dwelling on it, dreading each minute that passed by all too quickly for her tastes. At least Bellamy got some amusement out of it.

“Shit, shit, shit she’s here,” Clarke hissed as they pulled back in at headquarters after the morning patrol and she spotted the crowd.

“Relax princess, she’s not going to hurt you.” Clarke glared at Bellamy but they both knew it was ineffective. They also knew that Bellamy was going to go with Clarke to greet Congresswoman Griffin and protect his partner from her own mother as best he could. It was in his genetic makeup to be the best protector he could be for the people he cared about and Clarke was on that list. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Clarke wanted nothing more than to be running in the opposite direction but she dutifully followed her partner towards the mass of people standing at the main entrance. From the several large cameras trained on one person it was apparent where exactly her mother was. Nerves churned in her stomach, urging her to turn back.

She hadn’t seen her mother face to face in almost five months, since they’d had a huge argument and Clarke had stormed out of her childhood home. It was an old argument, one they’d had frequently over the year since Clarke had found out the truth of her parents’ marriage and divorce. The truth that had caused her father’s death. But just because it was a frequent argument didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt. It hurt like hell and seeing her mother in person made her feel as if the wound was reopening.

“Clarke!” her mother cries in that voice that means she’s overjoyed to see her daughter, as if nothing in the world is wrong now that the two of them are together. It makes her want to puke. It’s only because Bellamy brushes her arm with his hand to let her know that he’s there that she manages to tamp down on that feeling.

“Mom!” she responds, trying to sound just as happy. There are cameras there after all and as much as she had once wanted to punish her mother it’s something she’s trying to get past. “You’re early!”

By an hour. It’s enough to make her feel all panicky and gross. Not that she wouldn’t have felt that way anyway. “There was no traffic on the roads, we made great time,” Abby Griffin exclaimed as she drew her estranged daughter in for a hug and a kiss.

“We?” Clarke’s voice was a little strangled as she drew back to look her mother in the face. Abby would never refer to the reporters as ‘we’.

“Wells came with!” Abby announced, her smile about two megawatts from blinding Clarke.

Over her mother’s shoulder she sees Finn watching with wide eyes and she knows that he can see the panic in hers. She’d never suspected her mother would blindside her like this. Not after all the work they’d put into repairing their relationship.

“Clarke, I hope you like our little surprise,” Wells said as he stepped out of the crowd. “Your mother thought it up since it’s been so long since we saw each other last.”

Clarke was pretty sure that the entire world had started spinning. She was either going to puke or faint. “How nice,” she managed, the words sounding hollow even to her.

“Wells! It’s been months, how are you?” Finn cuts in and she feels like a drowning person who just got a gulp of air.

Wells looks a little uncomfortable because despite w

orking together numerous times since Finn guided Wells most of the time when he was at the Ark for research, they don’t really get along. Clarke thought it was a loyalty thing seeing as Finn was her friend and Wells was no longer her friend. “Very well, Finn. You?”

“I’ve been great,” Finn said as he stepped up and slung his arm around Clarke’s shoulder. Normally this would send Clarke reeling but right now it’s acting as the only thing anchoring her to this time and place. “Clarke and I discovered some new deer trails last week.”

That was true but it should not have sounded as possessive as it did. “And who is this?” Abby cut in with a raised eyebrow. Clarke took one look at the carefully hidden to those who were not related to Abby annoyance on her mother’s face and opened her mouth.

“The surprise I have for you. Mom, meet Finn Collins, my boyfriend.”

 

* * *

 

“Clarke, you’re really bad at surprises,” Bellamy scolded and stepped forward to hug Abby. “Mrs. Griffin, it’s been too long. Now, Clarke and I have been patrolling all day and we are dying for a cup of coffee, why don’t we head inside?”

Bellamy had long ago learned how to handle her mother when Clarke didn’t want to be around her and steamrolled through, somehow managing to get even Monty and Jasper heading inside. Leaving just Finn and Wells standing with her. In the most awkward moment she’d been in since that time she’d been helping Bellamy get a stain out of his shirt and Octavia had walked in on them and thought they were having sex.

Finn’s arm was still around her and she wondered if maybe she should take a step away but as she shifted it tightened, drawing her in just a little bit closer. She glanced up to find he wasn’t even looking at her, but was instead engaged in a staring contest with Wells.

“This is certainly a surprise, considering your mother asked me to come because she wanted us to tell the media we’re together.”

He said it in such a way that it made it sound as if he were accusing her of cheating on him. As if there were some promise between the two of them and she was breaking it. It pissed her off.

“I told my mother I wouldn’t go along with her little plan. I’m sorry she dragged you into it but I had no part in it. I had no idea you were even coming.”

Finn still hadn’t said anything and that was making her nervous for all that he still held her. Maybe he was in shock.

“Then I’m sorry to be in the way,” Wells spat out and stalked into the building. Clarke felt a twinge of guilt, remembering how close they once had been, but that was it. He’d learned long ago the state of affairs between them.

Once Wells was actually gone Finn’s arm fell from her shoulders and he took a step back. Clarke felt the absence of his warmth much more clearly than she should have.

“I’m so sorry,” she blurted out before he even had the chance to say anything. “I have no idea why I said that and it was way out of line and if you hate me I totally understand.”

Finn stared at her with a straight face as she trailed off before bursting into laughter. She stared at him in confusion as he struggled to get himself under control.

“The look on everyone’s faces when you said that I’m your boyfriend were absolutely priceless,” he informed her and that set off his laughter again. It was enough to get her to relax and smile along with him.

“You’re not mad then?”

Finn grinned at her, the same grin that had once gotten her to go on a date with him. “I did say that I’d go along with whatever you decided, no matter how crazy. But I gotta say, this is kind of up there with the crazy.”

And that was what set her off. She cracked up, laughter quickly turning to hysterics. “Hey, hey,” Finn said as he pulled her into an embrace. “It’s okay, we’ll handle this. We can go in there and tell them all it was a joke and no one will have any complaints.”

“Do you want to?” she asked, her voice muffled because her face was currently buried in his shoulder. “Or do you think you could handle this better than I have?”

That got him laughing again. “Princess, I think this is going to be a lot of fun and who knows, maybe you’ll learn how to have some too.”

She pulled away so that she could hit him on the arm and look him in the face. “You know I hate it when you call me that.”

“Yeah?” he smirked, “well that’s going to be my price for playing this game. I get to call you Princess, okay Princess?”

She made a face at that because she didn't yet know what to say and making a face seemed like the only way to respond. Apparently it was a good response because Finn started laughing. Not the way he had moments before, but the kind of soft laughter that came whenever Clarke made a joke.

Clarke shook her head to clear it. She was in over her head if she was thinking of Finn's laughter as soft.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea. I mean, it would be so easy for anyone here to tell my mom or the reporters the truth. It's not like we've sworn them to secrecy." She was grasping at straws, trying to think of a way to get out of her own plan. "There is no way that this could end well."

Finn frowned at her, the frown that meant he was more concerned with her than anything else.

"Hey, it's going to be fine. We could just tell them we've been keeping it a secret because we didn't want to make a big deal out of it. They'll never know otherwise."

"That is such a lie," she said, attempting a small smile. "We would never be able to keep something like this from Bellamy and Raven."

"Ah, but they would be willing to lie. We could tell them the truth, they'd understand the situation, you know they would."

Finn was actually trying to convince her that her momentary insanity was a good idea. Clarke wondered absently if he'd hit his head on something. Brain damage was the only explanation for this. At least it was the only logical explanation she could think of because Finn might be an adrenaline junkie but he didn't normally go along with stunts like this.

"You're crazy."

"Hey, it was your idea to begin with."

"This is going to blow up in our faces."

"Ah but just think how magnificent that explosion will be." He was grinning now, knowing that Clarke was coming around to this plan.

“Worse than the last time Monty and Jasper tried their hands at chemistry,” she retorted but allowed him to pull her into the building and into the plan.

 

* * *

  
  


There were hardly any cars outside of the local bar that was their hangout and Clarke wanted to cry in relief. It had been a very long day and she would much rather grab a drink with her best friend in a low key manner than deal with a crazy night at the Dropship. She ran in to keep from getting too wet from the constant drizzle that had set in that afternoon and showed no signs of moving on. Once inside she found Raven sitting at their usual booth in the back corner, drinks and food already waiting.

“You have no idea how glad I am to see you,” Clarke said as she dropped into her seat, shoving her coat and purse to the back of the booth. “You are the only bright spot of my entire day.”

Raven raised an eyebrow at that and shoved Clarke’s drink closer to her. “I had a feeling it was a margarita kind of night. So how bad was your mom?”

“Worse than I thought.” Raven winced and pushed the basket of fried food closer to Clarke too. They’d bonded over being raised by single mothers who turned out to not be such great mothers when Raven had moved back to Weathertop last year after spending a few years traveling after college.

It had been a bit rocky at first seeing as she and Finn had been childhood sweethearts and Clarke had just started really considering dating him but they’d moved past that. Mainly because Weathertop was a very small town and all the other females their age seemed to be married, engaged, intent on getting married, or trying their best to get out. Clarke had fallen in love with Weathertop the moment she’d arrived after spending her entire life living in cities and Raven had never been able to imagine living anywhere else longterm.

“So, what happened when she arrived?” Raven asked around the nacho she’d just stuffed into her mouth. “She really bring the press with her to visit the daughter she hasn’t seen in months?”

Raven had looked up to Abby and had been jealous that Clarke had such an amazing person as a mother until she’d realized just how bad their relationship was and why it was bad. Then she’d decided to be fascinated by the lengths Abby Griffin was willing to go in order to try and mold Clarke into the person she wanted her daughter to be. It worked out well for the both of them because it meant Clarke had someone to drink with and rant to whenever her mother drove her crazy. Which was on a regular basis.

Clarke groaned and took a large sip of her margarita before talking. “Well, not only did she arrive an hour early with, yes, reporters in tow, she also brought along Wells. Wells, alive and in person, Wells was standing there next to her when Bellamy and I pulled in from patrol.”

“Did she try and hug and kiss you again? Make it all awkward that way?”

“No, thank God. She was too busy trying to push Wells at me. She hardly even said anything before she was all ‘Look who’s with me! It’s Wells, your great friend, how is your relationship?’ and then I totally panicked.”

Clarke finished her margarita in record time and was making good headway through the food when Raven signalled their usual waiter, Atom, for another round. “Oh no, please tell me you did not just go along with her. Please, please, please tell me you did not do that.”

“How easy do you think I am?” Clarke retorted, finishing off the fries. “Of course I didn’t go along with it.”

“Mhmmm.”

“I need another drink in front of me before I can actually bring myself to say the words.”

That got Raven grinning. She always enjoyed when Clarke spoke before her brain caught up to her mouth and the consequences that came with it. She claimed it was the greatest source of entertainment in Weathertop, even more than the minor prank war she was engaged in with Bellamy.

“At least tell me that your mom is not going to try and make you play nice with Wells then. She has realized that she can’t force you to be friends because of the way it looks to the voting public, right?”

“Well if the little show we had to put on at the park in front of the reporters was any indication, yes, she is going to try.”

Raven wrinkled her nose in distaste. “Because it’s not like he betrayed your trust or anything so why wouldn’t you want to be besties with the guy who revealed to everyone that your mom had an affair with his dad and that was the reason your parents got a divorce. No, that’s totally okay.”

“She oh so subtly pulled me aside to remind me that she was the one who made the mistake, all Wells did was bring the truth to light. Too bad she always forgets to mention it was in the most public way possible and he didn’t even feel that I deserved to know before he announced it to the world.”

The second round of drinks arrived then and Atom gave them a quick smile before hurrying away. He’d been waiting on them ever since they’d made this their usual meeting spot after work and knew when to stay far away from the table unless delivering food or drinks. It was knowledge that both Clarke and Raven appreciated him cultivating. Clarke downed half of hers before Raven could say anything.

“An old argument, although still annoying. Now tell me what you did,” she demanded as Clarke took a smaller, more manageable sip of the margarita.

“I might have said that Finn was my boyfriend.”

Everything was silent except for the music being played over the speaker system and Raven stared at her in disbelief. “Finn Collins, Finn? Please tell me you are joking.”

Clarke groaned and slumped over to put her head on the table. “I wish. He was just there and it came out and he just played along. He told me he’s willing to go through with this until my mom leaves. He thinks it’s a great joke.”

“Well, duh,” Raven said, nodding her head all philosophically. “He’s kind of been in love with you since you guys met. Of course he’s going to jump at this. Better than see you with some other guy.”

“That is so not true.”

“Clarke, the only reason you guys aren’t together was because the timing sucked a year ago. You’d just found out the truth about your parents’ divorce and I’d just moved back to town. It wasn’t good timing for either of you even though you both wanted it. It’s different now and I think it would kill him to even watch your mom push you towards Wells let alone watch you pretend to date someone else. Don’t get me started on how he would feel if you actually started dating someone else.”

Clarke stared at Raven in amazement. “If he feels this way how come he never said anything? The timing would have been fine even a few months ago!”

"Boys are stupid and emotionally constipated," Raven said as she waved her hand. "But tell me what your mother did after you said that."

Clarke groaned and downed the rest of her drink before signaling for another. "I don't think I've ever spent a more awkward hour with her. I nearly cried in relief when she left to go check in to her hotel."

"Did she do that thing where she smiles at you and says nice things while making you feel lower than dirt?" Raven had been on the receiving end of that more than once after she stopped being Abby's biggest fan.

"I've never seen Finn look so bewildered and Bellamy so gleeful," Clarke snorted. "Jasper and Monty kept giving us wounded looks, as if we had betrayed them."

Raven laughed and finished her drink so she could start on the third round. "At the rate we're going we are going to have to call for a ride."

"Then I have no reason not to drown my sorrows."

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn Collins has always lived in Weathertop. It's his home and the only place he could see himself living. He has a house he is insanely proud of a job that lets him stomp around in the woods every day of the week. He is content with his life. The only thing missing is the woman he loves. Who just told the world they are dating. A guy can hope.

If there was one thing in the world that Finn hated more than anything else it was tourists who didn't know the first thing about nature and acted like they knew everything. These were the type of people that were likely to wander off the path and end up lost somewhere in the wilderness. The type of people who Finn then had to find and escort back to headquarters while listening to them gripe and complain and plain whine the entire time.

They were also the type that ensured he still had a job at the Ark despite the budget cuts he reminded himself before he gave in to the urge to shove the fat urbanite down over a cliff.

It had taken the man all of an hour after arriving at the park to wander off. Six hours later Finn was sent out after he failed to return from his "hike". Finn found him wandering around in circles, heading further into the park than back to the campgrounds that were his real destination. Finding the man had been the easy part, especially considering he'd left such clear tracks that even Jasper or Monty could have followed them. Unfortunately the man had made up for being so easy to find by being a royal jackass.

"If you're so concerned with people wandering off the paths then you should just send them out with tour guides. Or at least post more signs telling people to stay on the paths," the man, who was in his late thirties and obviously overweight, whined as he struggled to keep up with the leisurely pace Finn had set. "I was having a great time, there was no need for you to drag me back to camp."

Finn wished Clarke was here just because she was better at speaking diplomatically than him. "Look," he started, "the only reason I am escorting you back was because you promised your wife you would be back five hours ago. That's a long enough time to send out someone to check on you and that's all I was going to do.

"But I'm a commissioned search and rescue officer, it's my job to make sure people aren't lost in the park. You were headed in the opposite direction of your destination and would have wandered into an area we keep tourists away from due to the local wildlife. I'm duty bound to see you back to your camp."

It was a speech he'd given increasingly less politely several times since he'd found the man. Not even his paycheck was going to keep him from letting the man have it if they didn't part ways soon.

This time the man gave a snort of contempt but at least he didn't try to argue again. Although Finn suspected that had more to do with the fact that he'd slowly been picking up speed the longer they walked and the man had to use all his air trying to keep up, leaving none for petty complaints. Grinning to himself as that thought cheered him up a bit, Finn walked just a little bit faster. The closer they got to headquarters and the camp grounds near to it, the closer he was to being free of this necessary evil. At least until the next tourist of this mold got lost. And there seemed to be at least one a week that did.

The only thing good of it would be checking off another square of complaint bingo for the week. Jasper would complain about that but Finn didn't care that he never won. He also rarely had to interact with the tourists who did the complaining.

"Jim!" was screamed by the small woman who claimed the annoying tourist as her husband the second they stepped into view. "Oh god, Jim! I thought you were dead!" she screamed again, at the same pitch and volume.

Finn wondered if that scream was giving her hearing damage or if her ears were evolved enough to handle it. From her husband's wince his certainly weren't. Which Finn took a kind of vicious pleasure in after being forced to listen to Jim for almost an hour. It was a good revenge and he didn't even have to do anything for it.

Bellamy was the one who had been waiting with the woman and he looked relieved to see the two of them. He sternly reminded the couple about wilderness safety before heading back to headquarters with Finn.

"I hope you know that we do not both get a bingo square for this one," Finn told him, trying to keep the subject off of the one thing he did not want to talk about. "I was the one who had to deal with this."

His answer was accompanied by a smirk. "Ah, ah,ah. I dealt with the hysterical wife, you did not. We both get different squares."

Finn really hated that smug tone of voice. It reminded him too much of most of the people he went to high school with.

"We'll see what Jasper and Monty have to say about that."

That deflated Bellamy a bit. They both knew that Jasper would never allow Bellamy a square if he could get away with denying him one. He was too bitter over the fact that he never won and Bellamy almost always did. He was willing to see Finn or Clarke win if it just meant Bellamy lost once in a while.

"Jasper is biased, he should not be in charge." It was an old argument, one that even Bellamy didn't really expect himself to win. "We should have an impartial judge."

“Name one impartial judge at all of Ark?” Finn knew there wasn’t one. The canteen workers were his friends and the police department liked Bellamy more. Maybe they could find a graduate student working on a dissertation that didn’t have a preference between the two of them but that was unlikely at this point.

Besides, even if they could find someone who wasn’t biased against them, they’d be biased towards Clarke. Everyone was biased towards Clarke. It was practically a rule if you wanted to work at Ark. You had to like Clarke.

Bellamy pouted most of the way back to the common area they used during shifts, knowing that Finn had won the argument once again.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Ark wasn’t a big place and Finn had grown up in Weathertop. He wasn’t the townspeople’s favorite person by half. There were only three types of people from Weathertop. Those who left, those who stayed, and those that had no where else to go. Most people worked in those types of jobs that put an extra fifty years on a man by the time he was thirty. Sure, there were a handful of “adventurous” one percenters who built glamourous mansions on the scenic drives. But most everyone else was a bit too run down and wary of outsiders.

Finn had been trouble as a kid. His parents were always working or drunk and Raven’s mom was even less around. He had learned how to pinch from the local store around the time he had learned to count to five. The only reason his arrest record hadn’t gotten him sent down to juvie was that he knew the forest better than anyone. He stayed because the forest was his home, whether or not he was the local black sheep.

He had just pulled into his driveway when he realized something was off. His house was not easily accessible by any road and had no signs for at least three of the four turns offs to get to it. But there were boot prints near his door and Finn had only used the garage that morning. It was probably one of the local boys in blue here to see where he had been when such and such happened because using Finn as a first suspect might as well be tradition in the Weathertop Police Department.

Finn had just reached for the garage door when an excited and rather loud voice punched out of the bushes, followed closely by its owner.

“Mr. Collins, lovely to catch you at home,” was what the man had gone with. Finn had years of dealing with tourists under his belt so experience he didn’t so much flinch as feel an eye twitch. “I was hoping to get a chance to speak to you about your relationship with the young Miss Griffin.”

“Maybe another time,” Finn offered edging slowly towards his door. The man, obviously a reporter, held his recorder out further.

Finn braced himself to deal with the man now. “Do you have anything to say about the rumors that Miss Griffin is only with you because of the baby?” the reporter asked, almost stumbling over the words they came out of his mouth so fast. That was not what Finn had been expecting.

“What?” he nearly shouted. So it was reasonable that he reacted poorly.

“We have sources that show she went to a gynecologist recently. And all of Miss Griffin’s previous boyfriends have been pillars of the community and the top of their field. Talk around town is that you’re untrustworthy and your last relationship only ended recently.” The reporter smirked, “Why else do you think someone like the daughter of a good family such as Miss Griffin would be willing to be connected publicly to someone with such a, how should I put this? Ah, colorful background. Privately, of course, if another matter entirely.”

“Now listen here you little…” Finn could feel his blood boiling, he wanted to rip this guy apart for ever even thinking horrible things about Clarke.

But a memory struck him of Clarke, a year or so ago sitting with coffee held to her face and whining about the horrors of public life.

“You can never defend others or even yourself. Unless you have a publicist who is trained to give non answers you will always make it worse by rising to the occasion.” She had smooshed her nose against the mug then. Clarke tended to nuzzle coffee when upset, or anything else warm that happened to be on hand. “It’s awful. I have to punch a pillow after every event.”

He lowered his raised hand. Finn pulled up his “dealing with idiot tourist smile” and moved towards his garage door. The reporter went on.

“Everyone in town was quite willing to give me all the sordid details of your adolescence, and quite a few suspicions about your exploits as an adult. Enough to get me wondering if maybe you dropped Raven Reyes the second you thought you had a bigger fish on the line.”

Finn saw red. It was one thing to ask about Clarke, he’d been prepared for having to deal with the press. It was, after all, the entire point of this whole scheme. It was another matter entirely for them to bring Raven into it.

He and Raven might have split up a few years ago, but that didn’t mean he no longer loved her. Raven had been the one constant in his life since the day they met and the fact that they were no longer dating hadn’t changed that. Raven was off limits. He wasn’t going to let a slimey wannabe paparazzo drag her through the mud too. Bad enough he couldn’t stop it from happening to himself or to Clarke. But he could at least protect Raven.

“See, I’m wondering why the hell you’re trespassing on private property. Private property that happens to belong to a local official. So here’s the deal, you either leave now of your own accord or be escorted off by the police.”

He itched to add the fact that it was perfectly legal to shoot the man, there were posted signs for private property and he’d popped out of nowhere. If Finn had been feeling jumpy the man would be dead and Finn would walk away from it with no more than a warning. But he didn’t say anything because that would probably end up being very twisted around in a very public manner.

The man went pale under his greasy, fake tan as Finn’s smile slid away into the kind of hard look he gave troublemakers in the park. It was a very effective look and the man backed away, sliding the recorder back into his pocket.

“I’m gone, I’m gone,” he squeaked and hightailed it, leaving Finn to wait a few minutes to make sure he actually left before entering his house.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Finn was about finished with the part of his morning routine where he stood in the kitchen until most of his skin air dries while sipping coffee when there was a polite rap on his door. He checked the clock just to be sure. Barely six am. Finn thought for a moment about heading into his room to grab pants but figured whatever was important enough for a visitor at six in the morning was at least important enough to not require pants.

He regretted that choice.

Clarke was standing on his front porch looking very put together, a true ranger at heart. Her hair was usually windswept and messy and her shirts always rumpled and stained, but not this morning. Clarke’s hair was back in a braid that was still slightly damp and her shirt and pants, while work appropriate, also appeared to be freshly laundered and crisp.

“Um, morning.” Finn attempted to recover from the long silence he realized was mostly his fault. Clarke had said something after he’d opened the door, his mind had just been screaming louder.

“If I give you five minutes would you be ready for breakfast at the diner with me?” Clarke said, speaking slowly as if she wasn’t sure that he could understand English at the moment. But then, she had interrupted morning coffee, of course she should understand that he wasn’t completely aware of everything that was happening.

“Give me two minutes, Princess.” He grinned and shut the door in her face before sliding across his bamboo floors to his bedroom. Finn had clean work clothes and deodorant on before Clarke had time to go inspect his newest bird feeder.

“A bat feeder?” She asked pointing to the high up house in a tree that partially hung over his driveway.

“Can’t leave them out just because they eat mosquitoes.” Finn locked up behind him and shrugged on his jacket.

“What you’re saying is you don’t like using bug spray and it’s your turn to have the barbeque this month.” Clarke got that look on her face where she let you know she knew that you knew that she knew. Finn smiled.

“Better for the environment, the bats, and your complexion,” he said with a wink. Clarke blushed.

It was his turn to host the staff dinner and the last two times Clarke had gotten fairly well bitten. His house was close to several streams and there had been little to no vegetation removal when he remodeled the interior a few years ago when he’d bought the house. In the muggy, summer night air his place had swarmed with bugs.

Now the cool crisp of fall was already in the air so the bats might have been a bit over the top but they would at least make thing more bearable next summer for everyone. Even Bellamy had complained. Finn hadn’t downloaded the plans for a bat house until after Clarke had gotten bit a month ago on her cheek and she’d scratched at it for days.

“I thought we should talk.” Clarke admitted once they were in her truck and headed towards town. “About what we want to say.” Finn let her dangle there for a moment unsure of exactly how to follow up. “Because we aren’t actually dating.”

Ah, there it was. The thing was, until she had confirmed it, Finn had been fine not pretending. Sure he had ribbed her a little after she blurted out they were dating in front of her mother and the press, but a small part of him had been overjoyed. Finn had learned long ago it was better to not be the first to make a move in a relationship, mostly because he didn’t have boundaries between dating and committed. He knew Clarke was guarded when it came to love, had known it the moment he met her. Losing her father after her parent’s divorce had made her wary of even the idea of love.

That was fine though, Finn was good a waiting. He didn’t need to be in a relationship to be happy. The last few years without Raven had proved as much. But being with someone rounded out the day. He liked the idea of someone to come home to. Someone he could make breakfast for and rub their feet after a long day. And he really liked the idea of that someone being Clarke.

But it looked like Clarke wasn’t ready for that. It stung a bit, but it wasn’t the end of the world.

“I’m guessing we need to agree on how long we have been dating…” He began trying to think of the kinds of things couples would know about one another. They already knew most of that information. Finn could name all of Clarke’s favorite things and could retell cute childhood stories. He knew when her last cold was and which candy to buy her depending on the type of week she had been having.

“A little over a month.”

“Is there an exact date?”

“Um, does there need to be?”

“Well, how am I supposed to buy you a six month anniversary gift in five months if I don’t know what day to give it to you on.”

Clarke gave him a sharp look.

“Hey, eyes on the road, Princess. Why exactly did we start dating?” Finn pressed on.

“We like each other.” Clarke answered so quickly at Finn couldn’t help his smile.

“Yes, but what was the push? What is the weird story that I tell and you purse your lips at when people ask?”

“I don’t do that.” Clarke gave a sigh and roll of a shoulder.

“Sure you don’t, Princess.”

“Fine. After the barbeque at Bellamy’s house when you drove me home.”

Finn was impressed, that had actually happened. In fact in that car ride he had thought about bringing up the concept of them dating but Clarke had been drinking and he didn’t want to breach the topic while one of them was under the influence. There had almost been a moment in the car that night.

“And?”

“And we had a heart to heart in the car.” Clarke finishes

“Not the house?” Clarke huffs

“My landlords are nosey and loud. If someone asks them they’ll say you didn’t come up that night, which you didn’t so we’ll be in trouble there.” Clarke lived in the second floor of an old house that could be called an apartment only if one was feeling extremely generous. There was a bathroom and something that could possibly function as a kitchen. The place was probably a fire hazard with the open coils and lack of outlets. But there weren’t exactly new developments in Weathertop and Clarke had been putting off buying her own house for a while now.

“You’re expecting someone to interview your landlords?”

“I am expecting someone to interview the trash collector. Politics is not a game for the sloppy.”

Finn swallowed, the memory of the reporter appearing in his mind. The car stopped. Clarke turned off the engine and got out heading for the dinner. He was going to be in so much trouble.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The diner went silent when they walked in. Clarke walked to a booth as if this was how it always was when she got breakfast, never even faltering in her stride. Finn was a bit slower to pull up behind her. He could hear the whispers start up the moment he passed a booth filled with the local Stitch and Bitch club.

Clarke took the seat facing away from the door, so that she could see the majority of the diner. Finn got the one facing the door and he could feel the stares of the locals drilling holes into his back. It was even more intense than it usually was when he came in alone. Being seen with Clarke Griffin did not a happy town make.

“What can I get you?” came the rather breathy voice of the waitress, a voice that was obviously affected for Finn’s benefit. Too bad Annie May had yet to realize the voice was to both of their detriment. “Finn?”

Clarke’s right eyebrow was on its way upwards. He’d forgotten that she hadn’t been to the diner with him since Annie May had started working a month ago. Well, she had. But she hadn’t been there during one of Annie May’s shifts. That was the key point.

“We’ll both have coffee, thanks Annie May,” Clarke said for the both of them, earning her a sniff from the waitress and a look of profound gratitude from Finn.

“Of course, Clarke,” Annie May said in a distinctly not breathy voice and flounced off before either of them could say anything. This had the makings of a bad breakfast.

“You do know that she’s nearly twice your age, right?”

“I’m aware, thank you.”

“Just checking,” Clarke said mildly as she flipped through her menu even though they both knew she was going to get the #2 special. “You might want to make sure she’s aware too.”

Finn gave a low groan and would have put his head on the table if he wasn’t so aware of everyone currently watching him. He really wished right then that Clarke had chosen anywhere else for them to eat breakfast. Despite how hungry he was, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to choke anything down with all the eyes on him.

Annie May came back with their coffee and even gave Finn a little wink when she placed his in front of him. His had just the right amount of cream already added.

“Will you be wanting anything to eat? Your usual Finn?”

“I think we’ll both have the #2 today, thanks,” Finn said before Clarke could do anything. Subtle hadn’t worked with Annie May yet but there was always the chance that it would this time. “Bacon for one and sausage the other and whole wheat toast for both of us.”

He followed this up with a smile because it was an automatic response and too late did he realize that he’d promised last time not to smile at her. It just encouraged her.

“Be right back with those,” she announced with another little wink. Finn actually winced that time.

“So…” Clarke gave him a little smile that said this was amusing her.

“Please don’t.”

“I thought with all the hot moms hitting on you at work you would be better at this by now.”

“That’s different. That’s adrenaline and isolation talking.”

“This could just be plain old Weathertop isolation at work.”

“Says the girl who chooses to live here.”

“The odds are in my favor.” Clarke grinned. Finn returned the smile.

“You could do so much better, dear.” The Stitch and Bitch club had decided to become a part of the conversation on the way out. “No need to settle down with such a hooligan just because you’re pregnant.”

Clarke’s face went very, very blank. Then her eyes squinted ever so slightly.

“Excuse me?” It was the tone of voice Clarke used on campers who didn’t put out their fires properly.

“We were just reading the article on Inez’s tablet,” said a different woman, pointing to a third who waved a brightly colored ipad case. “You can’t be that far along if you only saw your doctor a few weeks ago and that young man Wells seems stand up enough to still care for you and another man’s child.”

“Men these days are so much more understanding,” agreed the woman with the ipod. “Not like back in my day when you couldn’t step out with a different boy each night without getting called names.”

“It’s not your fault your generation has loose morals,” tsked the first woman. “Or that you fell for this conman’s good looks.”

Finn was used to not being loved in this town but this was a new low. Clarke’s jaw twitched and she was suddenly wearing her ‘be silent children or you will never get that trail mix I promised’ face. The woman stopped speaking.

“Thank you, ladies, for your input but I do believe I have made the right choice.” She reached across the table and took Finn’s hand. He squeezed it gently to show support. The women sniffed and then left the dinner.

Finn was still holding Clarke’s hand, stroking his thumb back and forth over her knuckles, when Annie May came back with their food. She didn’t wink. Finn thought it might have been the best moment he’d ever had at the diner.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Back in Clarke’s car they both let out the breath they’d been holding. Breakfast has been mostly silent. It had felt two parts awkward and one part content. The whispers of the rest of the customers hadn’t really stopped after the Stitch and Bitch club had left. A few people had bumped into Finn’s part of the booth on the way out, but never Clarke’s. Everyone loved Clarke.

“What’s your data plan like?” She asked pulling out her cell phone.

“Garbage. I bought the satellite one. I only have enough to get emails.” There was no point in owning a shiny breakable iPhone when you lived and worked in a National Park. Finn had gone for a phone normally marketed to soldiers and mountain climbers. Finn looked at Clarke’s equally sturdy and mostly walkie talkie cell phone.

“Jasper.” He offered. She nodded and pulled out of the parking lot, heading towards the park. They’d make it with plenty of time to corner Jasper before their shifts began.

They found Jasper in the break room doodling on some notes while Monty held up different pressed leaves for them to inspect. Their job was mostly to catalog and record all the plant life at Ark so that grants and federal protection could continue. Finn assisted in cataloging the animals because Jasper and Monty did not do the whole ‘walking silently’ part of tracking very well.

“We need your phone.” Finn told the boys before snatching up the rather tricked out iPhone on the table. It even had the specal waterproof with drop sensitive exterior and an extra battery pack.

“Hey!” Jasper exclaimed, reaching for Finn.

“We won’t look at your personal stuff,” Clarke promised and it was enough to prove that Jasper’s protest had only been token as he sat back down.

Finn closed out of whatever App Jasper had been using last and clicked to the internet.

“Is there something I should be looking for exactly?” He said, realizing he had no idea where to even start looking.

“Something should come up under recent news if you just google my name,” Clarke said with a shrug. That was what caught Jasper and Monty’s full attention.

“Wait, what happened?” Jasper demanded as Monty nodded along. Finn just waved them off as he stared intently at the small screen.

He let out a groan as he pulled up the first link and began to scroll through it. It was a complete disaster. Not only had the reporter insinuated everything he had when talking with Finn, he’d also insinuated that Finn was rather violent and Clarke was still with him only out of fear.

Clarke was pacing around the break room in agitation while loudly reading excerpts when Bellamy slid into the seat next to Jasper. “I see she found the article,” he said under his breath, conspicuously lacking his usual grin.

“Yep.”

“Has she started the speech about sexism in the media?” Bellamy pulled an orange out of his pocket and handed out the pieces to the other boys seated at the table with them.

“That was five minutes ago,” Monty said while looking at his watch. “I think we’re about to get the privacy act.”

“It’s a violation of privacy!” Clarke growled, reading the article again. “There is no way they were able to get my doctor’s records so that means they had to get someone from the office to confirm I had an appointment, which they should not have been able to do.”

“What’s her mom said?” Bellamy whispers to the others.

“We have been ignoring Abby’s calls for her,” Jasper offered. At that moment, as if by some kind of summons, Clarke’s phone lit up again with the caller I.D. stating MOTHER. Finn pressed the ignore call button for the third time.

Eventually, Clarke ran out of steam. She looked worn out and crumbled when she finally collapsed into the chair next to Finn and placed her head on the table, arms dangling at her side.

“Want a peppermint paddy?” Finn offered while Bellamy rubbed her back. Clarke made a noise in the positive region and Finn slid the candy into her lap. She opened it and popped it into her mouth silently, the only sound in the room the crinkle of the wrapper.

“Sorry I dragged you into this,” she said after a long while.

“It’s fine, anything for you, Princess.” Bellamy snorted at the nickname. But it was true. Finn was ready to do anything for Clarke. That’s what you do for someone you love. Are IN love with. Whether or not they return your feelings.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“We are a small park here.” The man on the grain TV went on. “But we are always happy to have such an important guest.”

“One of the many reasons I am running is to fix the state and national budget for our parks. Ark is an amazing place and it deserves to have all the resources it needs,” said the smiling woman.

Ark. It was only a few hours from here, barely a full day’s drive. It was time to move on anyway.

He washed the last of the blood off his hands in a stream near his cabin. As he drove off he could hear the radio chatter of the search team looking for him. He was long gone by the time they found the body.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GREETINGS, This week's chapter comes from Esyla. Ally is busy with some stuff so if there is a different in tone and style that's why.   
> Don't you just want to hold Finn and make him Cocoa?  
> Also exciting news. The rating might go up in the future because I wore Ally down and she said I could write sexy times. So we can all get excited about that soon.
> 
> Don't forget this week is Finn Collins Appreciation Week. So get out there and tell the world why you love Finn Collins!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! We're really sorry about the delay in posting this chapter. I (Ally) have been really busy getting my certification for teaching English as a foreign language and Alyse's job just plain sucks. But this is my last week in my course and so next week we should be able to go back to weekly updates! (Also, please point out any inconsistencies in tone: we're both writing this and editing only does so much when we're editing it ourselves!)

Clarke wasn’t having a good day. She had known things were going to be a bit rough until her mother left but she hadn’t been expecting this level of a mess. Half the staff of the Ark had already asked her if she thought she was having a boy or a girl. Clarke had stopped responding after the fifth person and just glared.

The worst part of it was Finn. He was being supportive and helpful and had even somehow told the canteen employees that she needed a pick-me-up so they had her favorite lunch ready when she showed up. Clarke had even seen Finn take some super glue away from Raven and give her a meaningful look. Which was insane because in no way was she prepared to be the reason a truce was called in the great Bellamy and Raven prank war.

But who did that? Who was that perceptive and caring for a friend? Just once Clarke wanted Finn to really mess up. Not just forget to tell her something and then come back with a well crafted apology and a willingness to accept her choice. He would be easier to hate if he was actually the fuck up most of the town thought he was. But he wasn’t. He was stupidly good in every way and it upset her to no end.

“Did the chicken do something wrong?” Bellamy asked after Clarke had stopped moving while eating her on-shift dinner and started staring down at it instead.

“No, the chicken is fine.” Bellamy gave her an incredulous look.

“You sure about that?” He tilted his head. “You have the look of someone about to make an arrest.” Clarke huffed.

“The point of moving way out here was to get away from all the drama,” Clarke grumbled as she stabbed at the chicken just so it did know that it was in trouble.

Bellamy fell over laughing. “That’s rich,” he managed as Clarke turned to death glare her partner. “You actually believed all that city bullshit about small towns.”

Bellamy kept laughing all the way to the fridge to get more ketchup only to find that his hand wouldn’t come off the handle. “That sneaky witch.” He tried to yank his hand away but it looked painful.

“I thought I saw Finn take away the super glue this morning,” Clarke mused as Bellamy tried to reach for the sink to get hot water.

“Raven always has extra super glue.” Bellamy was now trying to get to the sink with his foot.

“Want me to get Monty? You know he has that glue dissolver stuff in his office.”

“No. I’m fine,” Bellamy insisted with his foot in the sink.

Jasper walked in, saw what was happening, took a picture of Bellamy with one hand glued to the fridge and the opposite foot in the sink and then walked out of the room without saying anything. Either he’d been sent to get pictures by Raven or he’d been so distracted that he’d forgotten what he’d come into the room to do and was now intent on showing the pictures to Monty. Or so Clarke assumed.

“Joke’s on Raven,” Bellamy continued as if Jasper had never appeared. “I am going to win this round.”

“You do know that plant graffiti doesn’t actually count as a prank.”

“I didn’t spray her wall. I sprayed her sofa.” Bellamy struggled before his foot fell from the sink. “And her car interior. Ughf. Also her, arghl, base- funghdck-ment.” Bellamy was now on the floor with his hand still glued to the top of the refrigerator door.

Finn walked in. Blinked twice. “She had extra glue,” he whispered and then turned around and walked out.

“Enough about me. How goes operation payback?” Bellamy had wiggled and grabbed his plate off the table and was back to munching on his sandwich. Even after witnessing similar scenes many times in the past Clarke was constantly amazed at Bellamy’s agility in situations like this.

“It’s not payback,” Clarke pointed out.

“Sure it isn’t. No, you just are dating someone your mother doesn’t approve of. After she tried to force you into dating someone you kinda hate.”

“We are not dating,” Clarke said through clenched teeth, hoping no one had heard him. Especially not Finn.

“See, I know that, and you know that, but does he know that?”

“Yes, we talked about it this morning.”

“Was that before or after you defended his honor in front of the whole town?” Bellamy had a piece of lettuce stuck in his teeth, she didn’t mention this. “When you break his heart it’s going to be a real pain to keep working with both of you. Because you are going to get weird and avoid him and he is going to just end up remodeling half the Ark into a more green building…..actually, you should break up with him. We use way too much fuel around here. I give him a weekend of heartbreak to come up with a way to use pond scum to power the entire building.”

Clarke gave him a meaningful look. Bellamy was teasing about Finn’s house of course. He had spent a year redoing every aspect of his home to be more eco friendly and cost effective. The entire time Finn had lived out of his car.

“What? I care about the environment.” A grunt. “Enough.” Clarke left Bellamy struggling. Eventually Kane or someone will come along and ply him free with hot water and soap.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Her mother was waiting in her office. Clarke realized immediately that this was karma for leaving Bellamy glued to a fridge after he had tried to give her good advice. Or his version of advice. Years of trying to keep Octavia out of trouble had warped his idea of advice. Still, it was occasionally good.

“No cameras?” Clarke asked stiffly.

“No. I wanted to clear some things up without double speak.” Ah yes, good old mom. Who just wanted what was best and hated the game. Clarke wasn’t buying what Abby was selling anymore. “Care to explain why I spent this morning having to deal with questions about your pregnancy and my thoughts on family values?”

“Your campaign managers aren’t doing their jobs properly.” Clarke shrugged and went to her desk to shuffle paperwork. She felt better with her hands moving.

“Well, seeing as the story is being properly crushed and now I have a much better statement prepared on family values I would say they are doing fine. I meant about this boy.” Clarke hated that. The way her mother talked about some people. She didn’t even say anything bad, it was all in the tone of voice. Oh sure it was fine that these other types exist and even be treated as equals but god forbid Clarke bring one home as a friend or worse boyfriend.

“His name is Finn.”

“I am aware. What I can’t understand is why him?”

“I like him.” Clarke tasted the bile in those words. She did like him. She did want him. But trusting Finn was dangerous, she’d learned that lesson all too well, even if it made her sick inside to play this game. But it was better than being a puppet.

“Think about this please,” Abby said as she pulled out a packet from her purse. “This is the voter research and the focus groups we did. I can win, Clarke. I can get into the game and make a difference. But for that to work I need some target demographics to approve.”

“Ultra conservatives not a big fan of an unmarried woman?” Clarke knew the answer of course. “Maybe you should have thought that before you ruined your marriage.”

“That’s not fair.” Abby looked like she wanted to stand. Like she wanted to start this fight that she and Clarke had already had over and over again. “All I was asking was for you to take Wells to the benefit in three nights.”

Abby had always been good at reframing everything to make it look like Clarke had completely overreacted and to put herself in the best light. It was the reason she’d made it so far in politics. Clarke hated it.

“Thank you, but I will be taking my boyfriend, Finn.” Clarke opened a file and gave her mother the air of being dismissed, something she had learned from her mother.

Abby left then but Clarke couldn’t stop thinking about the conversation. After an hour of doing nothing but staring at the same report she opened the packet her mother had left. The cold logic was a better argument than her mother could ever give. It was hard to argue with the numbers, until of course she got to the focus groups about Wells and Finn. The Wells one had clearly been done a long time ago and was fully detailed. He was the kind of man that women loved and men at least didn’t find threatening. Not to mention apparently the public loved the idea of childhood sweethearts.

The focus group on Finn was shorter, more hurried. It had been done in a rush. The people involved were slightly less diverse than the one conducted about Wells but the campaign team had still gotten the same kind of information. He was popular with young women and some young men but he alienated the majority of the donors and voters. His record was technically sealed at this point but  everyone in town knew and now half the country did as well. Sure he was charming and liked national parks, but Finn was vocally anti-gun and his social media leaned towards socialism when it came to political views.  

Her mind tried to think of options. Say she “broke up” with Finn and took Wells to the benefit, say they took smiling pictures and helped her mom out, when did it stop? Did it stop when she won? That was months from now. Could Clarke really pretend to date someone she didn’t trust, or at least trusted less than she trusted Finn? But then what? Would she have to stay with Wells because her mom wanted to keep her approval rating and go for a higher office? Would they expect her to marry him if her mother suddenly wanted to become President?

Clarke was trying to think about all the possible futures while she walked out to her patrol car, when a hand reached out and pulled her into a broom closet.

“Finn?” Clarke gasped in the gloom when she recognized his smell. That made her feel worse. That she knew how he smelled and could tell it was him with just a puff of air. It  felt like her sense were betraying her, knowing more about Finn than she thought she knew.

“There are reporters outside,” he hissed in the gloom.

“What?”

“One of them has a big camera with lights on top and I think I saw a microphone.” That’s exactly what Clarke needed right now, local news.

“Why are we hiding here?” Clarke stage whispered, she wanted to just regular whisper but she ended up also wanting to shout which is how this came to be.

“Because one of the guys with a camera was walking down the hall.” Finn returned the stage whisper volume.

“Did he see us?” Clarke wanted to peek out but years of watching horror movies had actually taught her something so that was not happen.

Which of course meant the door swung open and Bellamy stuck his head in. Clarke found that both her and Finn were now completely frozen in place.

“I am having both of your rations of pudding for a month because I just got rid of a camera crew and played extra nice to the weird anchor lady even though she touched my butt. Are we understood?”

Clarke and Finn nodded.

“Good. Now if you don’t mind I have a med kit to locate and revenge to plan.” Bellamy closed the door.

The air in the closet felt heavy suddenly. Neither of them said anything for a moment and then Finn, always the one to break the ice and make Clarke feel better said, “He will be getting vanilla pudding from me.”

The laughter bubbled out of her without permission but when she was done they were able to leave the closet with a minimal amount of problems.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Clarke wanted to kill Bellamy. Normally he and Raven managed to keep their little war and sexual tension fueled escapades from disrupting work but not this time. This time Bellamy had managed to give both himself and Raven food poisoning. Clarke didn’t know how he’d done it and she didn’t want to know, she was perfectly content being pissed off without the details of the situation being forced on her.

Normally this wouldn’t be such an issue but not this time. This time there was a media presence in the area and a serial killer on the loose which meant that Clarke was not going to be allowed to do her normal rounds alone despite the fact that she could handle herself just fine. Oh no, that would never fly with Marcus Kane. Instead she got stuck with the one person in the park that she really wanted to be avoid being alone with.

“All set?,” Finn asked as he stepped into the tiny office she shared with Bellamy, dressed for going and working outside. “We should head out soon, it’s only going to get hotter out the longer we wait.”

Clarke bit her lip, glad she didn’t blush easily because Finn was wearing a tshirt that was probably a size or two too small and it looked a lot better on him than the loose clothing their uniform usually comprised of. “Yeah,” she muttered, shutting off her computer and grabbing her things. “I’m ready.”

“Great,” Finn grinned at her and she followed him out to where his car was parked.

“We’re taking your car?” she demanded. Normally she was the one who drove and she liked it that way. It was bad enough she’d be stuck with Finn in a confined space after the awkwardness of the past two days since they’d escaped that closet, she didn’t want to be stuck with him with nothing else to concentrate on.

“Just get in, Princess,” he told her and she was hit with the memory of her first day of work at the Ark.

She’d been new, just started working as a ranger and she’d been trying so hard not to act intimidated. Then Finn had seen her walking out of Kane’s office and had smiled at her, a smile that had made her insides feel a little less solid. Kane had asked Finn to give her a tour of the park and he’d agreed and she’d just stood there the entire time, feeling like a love-struck idiot.

She’d followed Finn out to his car that day but had hesitated before getting in and Finn had laughed. He’d laughed in the way that still sent shivers down her spine, the one that seemed purely sexual in origin. And then he’d said “get in, princess” and had killed it.

Whatever attraction had been fizzing somewhere inside of her was dead. She’d hated it more than anything when people tried to nickname her and no one in her life had ever given her one that had stuck. But this was her new coworker, someone with seniority and for all she knew some serious pull with her new boss. So she grinned and bore it.

All afternoon. All through the ridiculous tour through the ridiculous park with the ridiculously beautiful nature that the ridiculously good looking and funny and smart boy she was with knew all about. She’d wanted to scream she was so frustrated with everything.

Then they’d gotten back to headquarters and Finn had given her the grin that he’d been giving her ever since. The one that made her a little weak at the knees and she’d never seen anyone else receive. “So, think you’ll stick around after all this, Princess?”

“My name is Clarke,” she’d told him, in that frosty tone that she’d never managed to control. The one that just seemed to come out even when she didn’t want to be mean. “Not Princess.”

“Whatever you say, Princess,” Finn had responded and she’d cursed herself for thinking the little grin on his face was attractive. “Princess just seems to suit you.”

“Keep telling yourself that and you might believe it but I never will.”

“Princess, I was wrong. Your looks are definitely not the most attractive thing about you,” he’d said, his voice wondering. “That mouth of yours is good for way more than one thing.

That had just cemented her crush. The crush that she’d been denying all afternoon. A hot guy who thought she was attractive both physically and mentally? Clarke had never been able to resist that. So she’d just said the first thing on her mind.

“Don’t worry, I’m sticking around for a good long while. Maybe I’ll even let you in on all the things my mouth is good at. Telling off boys is just the starting point.”

She’d spun on her foot and stalked into headquarters, angry at the fact that there was a smile working its way onto her face as the sound of Finn’s laughter followed her into the building.

In the present day the memory still made her smile. Things with Finn had gone sour quickly after that but she could still enjoy that first day, back before everyone and their mother had an opinion about them..

The flash of a camera as they pulled out of the parking lot made her groan and wish for those days again. Why was it that everytime her relationship with Finn had any kind of change it seemed like the whole world had to have an opinion about it?

“Care to share with the class?” Finn asked, glancing over at her and catching her eye. “Must be something good to put a smile like that on your face.”

“I think I’ll pass. Wouldn’t want your head to get any bigger than it already is.”

Finn sputtered in protest at that but he was grinning, understanding the underlying message in her words. He’d always understood her. Too bad it seemed that no one could understand them.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Clarke loved arriving back at headquarters after a good patrol. It hadn’t happened often these past few weeks with all of the drama that had been going on, but somehow Finn had made her forget all of that. He’d made her feel like everything in her life was normal again and she owed him for that if for nothing else.

Her smile disappeared as she walked back into her office and was surprised to find not Bellamy but Wells standing there. He looked distinctly uncomfortable and Clarke took a vicious pleasure in that.

“Hi Clarke,” he said and then swallowed as if his mouth was too dry to continue. “I was hoping we could talk?”

For a second she wanted to snark at him if he was telling her or asking her but she shoved that impulse down. Snarking at Wells would only make him think that she was feeling comfortable around him. It wouldn’t get his back up the way his mere presence got hers up.

“I’m not sure we have anything to talk about.”

Chilly calm was definitely the best route to take in this case. She watched in grim satisfaction as Wells winced.

Then he seemed to gather himself, standing up straighter and throwing his shoulders back. She’d watched him do this a million times when they were young, whenever he’d been preparing himself to confront someone. Her lingering good mood disappeared.

“Clarke, we need to talk. I’ve given you all the space you’ve asked for but I miss you. I miss my best friend.”

Frankly, she was stunned at his audacity. “Then you should have thought about that before you kept secrets about my own life from me.”

She’d never be able to forgive him for that. She could forgive him for revealing the affair that had destroyed her parents’ marriage because in the end it wasn’t his fault. What she couldn’t forgive is the fact that he’d never told her anything. He’d watched as she dealt with her parents’ messy divorce, as she’d become more and more withdrawn, believing that she’d done something to cause this. Clarke had gone through all of high school believing that if she’d only been better then her parents wouldn’t have divorced and her dad would never have left.

And Wells had just sat there and watched it tear her apart. He’d known all along that it had had nothing to do with her and he’d said nothing.

“I’d thought that if you knew the truth it would be worse. You’d already lost your dad, I didn’t want you to lose your mom too,” Wells pleaded with her. “I thought I was helping you.”

“You sure have a twisted definition of helping,” she spat back. Then she heaved a sigh, collapsing into her chair. “Go away, Wells. I’m too emotionally exhausted to deal with you.”

He gave her a wounded look but she wasn’t lying when she said she was emotionally exhausted. “Okay, I’ll go. But just so you know I’ll be in town until after the benefit. If you’re ever ready to talk, let me know.”

She let him walk out as she contemplated throwing a parting shot after him, but she let it go. Between her mother and Finn and Wells and Bellamy and all the ups and downs the day had presented her with she had no energy left.

Pulling her cell out of her pocket she dialed Raven. Tears gathered in her eyes as she listened to it ring.

“Clarke?” Raven’s voice was concerned, she knew something had to be wrong for Clarke to actually call her during a shift.

“Think we could have a movie and junk food night tonight?” she asked, her voice catching. She hated this. Hated this weakness because she was already so burnt out that one confrontation with Wells had her running to her best friend for comfort. She just hoped that a night in with Raven would recharge her batteries enough for everything she knew was still to come.

 

 

* * *

 

 

There weren’t as many trails at this park. But it was so much larger than he had hoped. He sat, sharpening spikes, watching the fire glow in the cave and thought about the damage he would be able to do here.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is, the beginning of the epic flarke fic that we have been working on. It will be updated at least once a week but we can guarantee no schedule. Also, in this fic Bellamy and Clarke are partners and act much like siblings. THERE IS NO ROMANCE BETWEEN THEM. This is not a bellarke fic. Go elsewhere if you want to read that. That said, we hope you all enjoy!


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